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Virtual Reality (VR)

Okay, okay, I know I’m behind the times on this one. This project made the rounds about 1-2 years ago (maybe longer) and everyone one was talking about it. It is a book by Ernest Cline entitled Ready Player One (RP1) and it apparently is a “pop-culture” phenomenon in that it references a ton of things from “my” generation (those growing up in the late 70s, 80s, and early 90s). So, yes I knew about this project before the movie trailer debuted at Comic-Con. And yes, I knew about the pop culture references and in-jokes that it was supposed to contain. But here’s the thing: Game of Thrones. Now I’m going to catch heat (i.e., be flamed) for this, but RP1 had the same level of “hype” associated with as did Game of Thrones and I am NOT a Games of Thrones fan (I’ll do a deep dive into why at a later date). So I figured this is probably just a Games of Thrones clone with VR as just The Expanse (another show I tried to watch) was just a Games of Thrones clone in space.

However, the trailer–Ready Player One Trailer–convinced me otherwise. This is one of those where I had to “see it in order to believe it.” Steven Spielberg is the director and it seems (to me at least) a return to form. It has an interesting world and the action seems like it is going to be amazing just from the brief look at it that we get from the trailer. Also, try playing the “see what pop icon you can find in the trailer” game–I saw two obvious references–The Iron Giant and the DeLorean from Back to the Future. Actually, I did see others, but that would be spoilers–see if you can spot them (hint look closely during the Iron Giant scene & during the robot fighting scene). To steal a line from a 1970s commercial for the board game Connect Four: “Pretty sneaky, sis.”

I’m probably going to watch the movie first and then read the book–that tends to be the way I do things unless I’m ahead of the curve (rare, but does happen sometimes). If the movie (& book) is as good as the trailer makes it appear, this is one project that I will be happy to have been wrong about. I’ll take fun over depressing any day and this looks fun!

So this post is late for a reason–I went to the MTSU’s Library and to their Maker Space and scheduled time to use their VR Headsets (for a presentation on technology on Wednesday). I scheduled 1 hour with Oculus Rift and 1 hour with the HTC Vibe. These are 2 of the 3 VR Headsets that are currently on the market and after today’s demonstration, I want to get a PSVR (Playstation VR Headset).

It was incredible!

Image Source: Bestbuy

I tried Oculus Rift first and this was the best starting point. It allowed me to get used to the VR space. It is mostly a visual and auditory experience. It is true and full 3D VR, but movement in the demos was limited. You can mostly stand in one area or move one or two steps to see all of the content. The content is fully 3D and moves all around you so that you can look up, down, around, and behind you. I saw several demos that were really immersive.

Image Source: YouTube

Moving on to the HTC Vibe, it has a headset like the Oculus Rift, but it also has handsets that are tracked in realtime by two cameras and it allows you to have space to move around and this really opens up the “play” environment. I was able to look at spaces, but I was also able to look in spaces as well.

Whereas Oculus Rift shows you the potential of VR, the Vibe allows you see how that potential will be realized once the technological limitations are addressed.

I’ll talk more about VR in upcoming post, but I just wanted give a quick impression of these two VR systems. They look really awesome and change the nature of the interactive experience. I’m looking forward to getting a PSVR sometime in the near future!